OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has today published updated rating criteria for assessing credit risk in Colombian residential mortgage loan pools that are used as collateral for structured finance transactions. This report updates and replaces the prior criteria report with the same name, dated Sept. 28, 2012. There have been no material changes in approach from the previous version; therefore, Fitch expects no impact on existing ratings.

This report sets out the Colombia-specific issues addressed in Fitch Ratings' analysis of securities backed by Colombian residential mortgage loans. The addendum should be viewed together with Fitch Research on 'Rating Criteria for RMBS in Latin America,' dated January 2015, available on Fitch's Web site at www.fitchratings.com, for a comprehensive understanding of Fitch's approach to rating Colombian RMBS transactions.

The published criteria assumptions will be utilized in rating new and existing Colombian RMBS transactions. Fitch's current portfolio is exclusively rated on the national scale identified by (col) ratings suffix. The RMBS transaction surveillance process involves a number of quantitative and qualitative factors, including an assessment of market developments, loan-by-loan and pool-level analysis, and a comparison with current credit enhancement levels against a stress loss assumption at each rating category.